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Taenite

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Taenite

Classic Locality

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Description
Locality: 
Nandan Meteorite, Nandan County, Hechi, Guangxi, China (Peoples Republic)
Class: 
Massive/Crystalline
Size Range: 
Micromount (under 1cm)
Size: 
0.4 × 0.2 × 0.1 cm
Description

Tiny specimen of a rare meteorite:

A Nickel-Iron meteorite was observed to fall in May of 1516 (“During summertime in May of Jiajing 11th year, stars fell from the northwest direction, five to six fold long, waving like snakes and dragons. They were as bright as lightning and disappeared in seconds".) The fall was estimated at 9000 kg. It lay untouched until "the great leap forward" in 1958, when peasants were to boost steel production with neighbourhood blast furnaces. There was a shortage of iron and so the meteorites were dug up. Fortunately their melting point was too high and the meteorites were spared.

The fall was in an 8 km wide path, trending northwesterly over a length of 27 to 28 km between the towns of Lihu and Yaochai, located NE and ESE of Nandan, respectively.  

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Taenite

Formula: 
(Fe,Ni)
Strunz: 
1.AE.10
Hardness: 
5.0 - 5.5
Type Locality: 
Gorge river, South Westland, South Island, New Zealand

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